Growth performances, meat quality and intestinal histomorphology in broilers fed zinc-enriched Camelina sativa seeds from agronomic biofortification

This study evaluated the effect of dietary supplementation with camelina seeds obtained from conventional farming or crop fertilization with Zn on growth performances, carcass traits, fatty acid profile, antioxidant status and sensory properties of meat, and intestinal histomorphology in broilers. One hundred- and thirty-five-day-old male chicks (Ross 308, 41.70 ± 0.85 g) were fed a starter diet for two weeks. Afterwards, three homogeneous groups of chicks were made (n. = 15), in three replicates, and fed ad libitum for 6 weeks with a commercial control feed (C), or with feed containing 10% of conventional (CAM) or Zn-enriched (Zn-CAM) camelina seeds. The Zn-CAM diet decreased (P < 0.05) the slaughter and hot carcass weights whilst the CAM diet increased (P < 0.05) the breast and thigh weights. The CAM diet increased (P < 0.05) the breast and thigh incidence as compared to the Zn-CAM group. The Zn-CAM diet increased breast meat tenderness (P < 0.01) and decreased the malondialdehyde concentration (P < 0.05). The Immune Organ Index was lowered following the Zn-CAM diet (P < 0.01). The CAM and Zn-CAM diets increased (P < 0.01) the concentration of n-3 fatty acids and decreased the n-6/n-3 ratio and the Index of Thrombogenicity in breast and drumstick meat. The Zn-CAM diet increased (P < 0.05) the breast meat succulence and juiciness. The tenderness and overall acceptance of drumstick meat were increased (P < 0.05) following the CAM and Zn-CAM diets. The Zn-CAM diet may be interesting for poultry feeding because it shows a positive effect on the immune function, on the increase of meat n-3 fatty acids in turn of a decrease of the n-6/n-3 ratio, and on the improvement of breast meat tenderness, succulence and juiciness. Further investigation is needed to understand the effects on growth performances.